Campus Basement Reader Wins $200 With College Book Renter, Spends It On Parking Tickets

A few weeks ago, we ran an exclusive promotion with College Book Renter in which a Campus Basement reader would be entered into a raffle to win $200 just for checking out their blog. We’re happy to announce the winner was Dartmouth alum David F, who told us that he plans to use the money on unpaid parking tickets.

“I’m happy I signed up for the newsletter,” David said. “It had some great tips about online dating, which is great because I am on both JDate and OkCupid.”

Spending all that dating money should be easier without those parking fees hanging over his head. If you haven’t checked it out yet, the College + Life blog also has tips for how to eat on a budget, and some cool Valentine’s Day gift ideas, which will hopefully be useful for David if the JDate thing ever pans out. Congrats to him for winning the $200 prize and be on the lookout for more awesome contests!

Instagram, the popular picture-sharing app that allows users to apply unique filters to their photos, was heavily criticized today for an update to its Terms of Use affirming that the company has the inalienable right to use any photos uploaded to the site for paid or sponsored content. Users of the app were outspoken in... MORE »

In an effort to ensure that this year’s shopper-on-shopper violence occurs in a more organized and entertaining fashion, Walmart has instituted new Hunger Games-style death matches for its customers on Black Friday 2012. Based on the popular dystopian novels in which a tyrannical government forces children to fight to the death in special televised events,... MORE »

Election Day: Local dimwit John Thurpwood was guilt-tripped by his Facebook friends into visiting his designated polling place and voting in the US presidential election today, despite not knowing anything about the candidates or their positions on various political issues. “I wasn’t really going to vote since I’m not into politics and I didn’t watch... MORE »

US presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have mutually decided to cancel the final televised debate tonight, citing the fact that no matter how much they argue back and forth, there’s really nothing they can say at this point that will change each other’s or viewers’ minds and they should probably just go ahead... MORE »

Quinnterviews is a new segment from mtvU covering all of your favorite college-related topics, from finding a roommate to finding true love (preferably not both at once). Sit back and enjoy as Emerson senior Quinn Marcus asks unsuspecting strangers some hilarious and occasionally uncomfortable questions about what to look for in a roommate. Get More:... MORE »

Local homeless man Garvis Cocktooth recently became something of a media sensation after being crowned by news outlets as “the first person in line for the iPhone 5.” Cocktooth, who has been living on a pile of unfolded Domino’s Pizza boxes outside the Apple Store for the past three years, is completely dumbfounded by his... MORE »

Following a flurry of angry calls and emails from parents of Olympic athletes, the International Olympic Committee has discontinued the 118-year tradition of only awarding the top three competitors of each event with gold, silver, and bronze medals. As of Friday, all London 2012 Olympians will automatically be given a gold medal just for participating... MORE »

BREAKING: A song centralized around partying, drinking alcoholic beverages, and generally having a good time has proven to be a massive chart-topping pop hit this week. The catchy tune was written and sung by a popular artist who has already had at least one or two Top 40 hits covering similar subject matter. The new... MORE »

At a press conference last Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed what could be a game-changing new product in the TV marketplace. You’ve seen touchscreen phones and tablets, but Apple is looking to be the first consumer electronics company to release a touchscreen television set. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned from iPods, iPhones, and... MORE »

Well, friends, it’s been a hell of a journey. But the world’s number 1 comedy source for the past six months or so has officially run dry. Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has “suspended” his campaign, forcing political satirists to stay at work past 5pm for the first time since he announced his candidacy.... MORE »

Dear readers, It’s been well over two years since Campus Basement was founded at Syracuse University as the go-to source for college news and entertainment. Since then, we’ve expanded to over 10 new schools and built a writing staff that spans coast-to-cast, from USC to Mizzou to Columbia University. We’re proud of what the Basement... MORE »

Jason Russell, the face and voice behind the massively viral Kony 2012 video, was arrested in San Diego Friday afternoon after allegedly masturbating in public and vandalizing cars, presumably in a state of intoxication. The Kony video was released through the civil rights organization Invisible Children, a group dedicated to exposing Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and bringing him... MORE »

Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj got into a heated Twitter fight with Syracuse University students yesterday after a student tweeted her asking if she would be performing at Block Party, a yearly concert event that takes place in the university’s Carrier Dome and holds upwards of 50,000 people. Block Party has previously hosted such big name acts... MORE »

If you’ve been following your college’s “Memes” page on Facebook, you’re probably familiar with UNH student Griffin Kiritsy, whose fresh-faced, pathetically earnest smile is the butt of the popular College Freshman meme joke. To put it into non-internet nerd language: college students use his photo as a template to share brief, humorous anecdotes about things... MORE »

Now that Syracuse University’s IFC spring rush period has finally come to an end, aspiring Greeks around campus have officially made the coveted transition from GDIs to worthless maggot pledges, prepared for the toughest physical and mental challenge of their college careers. Delta Theta pledge Marc Nason, however, was caught off guard to learn that... MORE »

Happy Valentine’s Day! For all you boyfriends and girlfriends out there, love is in the air. For the rest of us, at least there’s Xbox 360, OkCupid, and old Dashboard Confessional albums still lingering on our iPods from 10th grade. Actor Mel Gibson, on the other hand, had quite a productive day. I heard he... MORE »